Secrets of the Dance
by The Girly Man
Summary: Gym Class Dance Unit: Just screaming for trouble, right? Right. Trouble is what she hates. Trouble is what she got. [[COMPLETE!]] Finally!
1. Secret One

**Why oh why do I get all of the inspiration for my stories from GYM CLASS? I HATE GYM CLASS!**

**Thank you, gym class. I owe you so much. Too bad you're ruining my Straight A's because I keep getting a B in your class because I suck at physical activity. I guess I love you. You give me so much inspiration. And caused a big fight between me anda few people... but that will come in later chapters!**

**Eri (pronounced kind of like 'Ellie') Rena is an original character and is slightly based off of me…**

**I don't own any of the other characters though.**

**This story is in Eri's point of view. **

**Thank you to Pei-Chee who told me which title sounded better (It was between _Secrets of the Dance_ and _Dance, Dance_. If you think I should change it, you can just tell me.)**

**-Secrets of the Dance-**

**Secret One: **

There's no doubt about it.

I'm the biggest geek in school.

It's not that I'm not _attractive_ or anything. I just have a 4.0 GPA and no social life. And I haven't conversed with a boy other then my brother or Uncles since fifth grade.

I am Eri Rena.

One day I had a lot of homework, meaning I had a pile of books in my hands higher then my head.

Having rocks thrown at you with your arms that full isn't a very pleasant experience.

I don't even know who was throwing the rocks at me. I just knew that it hurt—_bad_—and the boys throwing them at me were calling me mean names. I've always been taught not to cry… but I just _lost it._ I began crying my eyes our, dropping my books all over the ground. They laughed at me as I scrambled around, trying to pick them up, my long hair falling out of its usual tight bun.

"Hey! Quit it!" A voice—male—yelled as a final pebble hit me on the head. I looked up in time to see four boys run off and one helping me pick up my things.

I immediately got all clammed up and insecure, trying to tie my hair back up while wiping away my tears.

"You don't have to cry," the boy said, smiling. I couldn't respond. This boy looked so familiar. I thought I remembered him from a few of my classes. I was sure he was at least in my grade.

He was extremely cute.

Why was this cute boy helping me?

"Do you need any help carrying this stuff home?" the boy offered.

My mouth felt like it was glued shut, so I shook my head 'no'. He handed me my books as I stood up.

"See you around," he concluded, still smiling.

I sure hoped so.

As I walked home, I regretted not accepting that boy's help. I regretted not thanking him.

I regretted not asking him what his name was.

Crap, why hadn't I asked him his name?

-

I have many secrets.

Secret Number One: Physical Education is my favorite class.

Everyone expects the nerds to hate gym, right? That's the stereotype.

Wrong.

I'm the best in my class.

Just another reason to hate me, I guess.

The worst part about gym?

That boy is in my class.

I almost barfed when I saw him during timed running the day after the rock incident. He winked at me and smiled, causing me to stumble a little bit. I tried to ignore him and focus on the last five minutes of running, but I couldn't help but notice him be consumed by a mob of girls in the corner of my eye.

Figures. He's probably a man whore or something.

What did I expect? How could somebody so adorable _not_ be popular?

But I couldn't help not being disappointed that he wasn't a shy little nerd like me.

Running ended and I walked over to the female gym teacher to get instruction on what we were doing next. I felt a tap on my shoulder but ignored it, afraid it was that boy. I sat down behind a group of giggling girls as Sensei cleared her throat.

"Settle down," she commanded. The boy's teacher walked over to us from the other side of the gym.

"Our next unit is going to require teamwork and flexibility of the mind and body," he announced. "It will also be co-ed."

Immediately there was a huge uproar. We normally separated genders aside from running.

Something bad was happening.

I could tell.

"The unit we are starting is… dance."

My stomach dropped and I wanted to scream.

_Dance?_ That was so unfair! Since when was dance required in gym class?

This was not good.

"You will be assigned group mates and you will have one week to make up a dance. Then you will perform for your classmates," Sensei explained.

This was worse then bad.

This was utterly _horrible._

I felt numb and unaware of anything as Group 1 was assigned. I barely heard my name being called as the third member of Group 2.

Makato and Sari, the popular girls that were first called in Group 2, snickered and rolled their eyes at me as I stood next to them. This was not the first time that had happened, so I pretended to not notice.

Next was Tomo, who stomped up next to me. He seemed angry. I assumed that, being known as the school bully, that dance angered him as much as it angered me.

Then Fuku, another nerd, was called. He stood next to Tomo.

"The last member of Group 2… Yuki Sohma?" Sensei called, reading off of her clipboard.

I almost wet my pants.

It was _that boy_.

My eyes fell to the ground in embarrassment as he stood next to Makato, still smiling that perfect smile.

I am _not_ sharing my… _secret_… with _him._

At least now I know what his name is.

**-**

**Short, yes. The next chapter gets better. I have big plans for this story.**

**Thank you for reading!**

**Brenna**

**+The Girly Man+**


	2. Secret Two

**Erm… hello… Hehe!**

**Thank you to my reviewer: CuteCrittersGang! I wuv you and your silly story!**

**Erm… I suppose I shall continue because I really thought this was a good idea… Eri's the first original character I've ever made. Oh well. I continue because it makes me happy, not just for reviews!**

**I made up Eri, Fuku, Makato, Sari, and Tomo. I do not own Yuki (sadly!). **

**Secret Two:**

Secret Number Two: I love to dance.

I'm obsessed with it.

Dancing is my life.

But that secret will never be revealed. No matter what those stupid teachers say. I will not let it be.

"Okay, Sari and I have already made up the dance," Makato decided after all of the groups had been assigned, and the two of them broke down into this hip-hop frenzy, butt-shaking and all. I watched from a distance, desperately trying not to laugh.

"That's _dumb_," Tomo argued. "That's a girl dance. I'm not shaking my butt around like that."

Fuku began talking about the history of dancing, and I just stood there. Yuki walked over to me.

"Hey," he said. My mouth immediately felt like it was filled with peanut butter, molasses, and Elmer's glue, so I forced myself to smile and succeeded in looking like a demented Zombie.

"Did you get home alright yesterday?" he asked.

"Yeah," I replied, then immediately cursed myself. Who was I to speak to this… _angel?_

I wondered if he was trying to be nice to me so he could rape me or something later.

No, I'm not one to trust people.

"Prince Yuki!" Makato and Sari shrieked, "Did you like our dance?"

Then it dawned on me.

Yuki wasn't just a popular boy.

He was the most popular kid in _the whole school._

He was the one everyone called 'Prince'…!

"Uh… sure…" he answered, and I inched away from him nervously. I was a speck compared to him.

"I hated it!" Tomo exclaimed. "I'm not doing that!"

"Why don't we ask Eri what she thinks we should do?" Fuku decided, and I almost fainted as my five group mates turned to look at me.

"Oh… I don't know…" I mumbled, although my head was buzzing with ideas.

"She doesn't know _anything_," Sari snorted. I looked away in embarrassment.

Yeah, that's why I'm a straight-A student and skipped freshmen year.

I was fuming.

"If nobody has any ideas, we're doing _our _dance. We're going to wear a white shirt, black pants, and a black tie. The song we're going to do is—"

"Wait a second," Tomo cut Makato off. "Who decided that? We're not doing that!"

"Makato and _I_ thought of it, and if you don't like it_ too bad!_" Sari exclaimed.

"I think we should concentrate more on the dance and less on—" I started, but Sari hissed at me.

"Nobody cares what you think! Just shut up!" Makato yelled, rolling her eyes at me. I shut my mouth and gritted my teeth back and forth so I wouldn't cry.

"Why don't we do this move?" Fuku suggested, demonstrating 'The Robot'. Tomo laughed and Sari and Makato clicked their tongues, ignoring them.

"Were going to do the song—"

"We really should concentrate more on the dance," Yuki said.

Suddenly, it was the best idea ever, and the two girls lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Good idea, Yuki!" they cried.

The end-of-class bell rang. I couldn't believe we had spent over twenty minutes with our group and didn't have a single move better then 'The Robot'.

-

During lunch time, I snuck into the smaller gym and popped one of my pop CDs into the player along the wall. I wasn't sure if I was allowed in there unsupervised, but I didn't really care. I pressed play, and the room was filled with electronic beats and cheesy lyrics.

I began to dance.

As I spun and twirled, making up a dance on the spot, I let all of my emotions out into the steps. My anger at Makato and Sari… my possible crush on Prince Yuki… I was completely unaware of what I was doing.

That's why I loved dancing. I could just outlet all of my emotions and have fun at the same time. I felt as if I weighed nothing…. As if I was floating on the air…

The song ended and I sat down on the floor, exhausted. I smiled and pulled the ribbon out of my hair, letting the brownish-black, waist-long strands fall like waves on me.

After a quick stretch, I stood up again and took my CD out of the player. I began to tie my hair back up when I heard this noise… this… _clapping._ I got all embarrassed and turned around, expecting a gym teacher.

I was wrong.

I fainted.

Well, almost. My knees gave in and I collapsed onto the group.

"Are you okay?" Yuki asked, running from the door to help me up. I was sick of him helping me! I stood up by myself and collected my things without a word.

"Eri!" he exclaimed, placing his hand on my shoulder as I sped toward the door. I stopped, but didn't turn around. "Eri… how come you didn't say anything during class if you're such a good dancer?

"That…" I was about to say 'That wasn't me,' but decided against it. "What are you talking about? You didn't see anything."

Leaving him with this adorable, puzzled expression on his face, I stormed out of the room at the speed of light.

I couldn't even say that I had 'narrowly escaped' my secret being revealed, because it had been. To the Prince. He was bound to tell everyone.

I sat down on the front steps and buried myself in the words of someone else's fantasies for the last few minutes of lunch.

-

**I suppose I have some people to thank for this whole story: The two big jerks whose names will not be revealed. Not that they'll ever read this. I don't think they can read such hard words as 'The' and 'It'. They're the base of Makato and Sari. In gym class, we really had to do a dance unit at my school, and they told my group what we were wearing, what song we were doing, what dance we were doing, and every time someone would offer a suggestion, they would roll their eyes and make fun of me and my friends. This major controversy led to none other then… this story! I won't give you the whole details of everything that happened to me in that dance unit week, because the story is _this_ story, with a few added twists!**

**I also thank my friends, Milijana, Hajar, and Justina, who are not a nerds, but are the bases for Fuku and somewhat Yuki's identity (not the crush-on-him part though! I don't have crushes on my friends! Lol!). Fuku asked Eri what she wanted to do, and offered suggestions himself. But… my friends didn't offer 'The Robot'!**

**I thank another one of my friends, Pei-Chee, (yeah, yeah, so much thanking) for the identity of Tomo. She wasn't as grumpy about the dancing though, and surely isn't the school bully! She did defend me from the mean 'Makato and Sari' though and refuse to do their dance! Hoorah! **

**Thank you to all of the people who supported me in the process of this story! Too bad only one of them (Justina!) might read this, because none of my friends know what Furuba is aside from her… tee-hee!**

**So… did you like it? Yes? No? Maybe so? I'd love to hear your thoughts!**

**Thanks for reading, man!**

**Brenna**

**+The Girly Man+**

**Secret Three Coming Soon!**


	3. Secret Three

**Thanks to CuteCrittersGang (I love your story!) for the only review!**

**Also thanks to the two people who put the story on their alerts list, even though they didn't review!**

**Secret Three**

Secret Number Three: My home life isn't too… good.

My dad left my mother with my brother and me a few years ago, and my mother lets her anger out on us. Mainly Chang, my older brother. I live on the enclosed back porch of my house and Chang in the basement, mostly because they're the farthest places away from mom.

Most of the time.

In my back porch bedroom, I dropped my backpack on one of the old couches. Thankfully, Yuki wasn't in any of my afternoon classes and I didn't have to see him after the whole dancing-at-lunch thing.

The rock incident.

The dancing-at-lunch thing.

It made me wonder if this kid was… following me?

A chill went down my spine.

I heard my mom yell something at Chang and turned my music on loudly so I could block it out. Putting on my ballet shoes, I tried to forget everything through my dance.

But I kept stumbling and was still aware of my surroundings. I couldn't concentrate on just one thing.

Why was I so distracted?

I lay down on my bed and covered my head with my pillow. I screamed and kicked my feet.

Why couldn't I stop thinking of him?

-

"How many times do I have to tell you? _I'm not doing that dance!_"

"Oh shut up, Tomo. Just 'cause you're not coordinated doesn't mean we have to stop the world."

Tomo glared a hole through Makato's head.

"Okay, we'll go through it _again_," Sari sighed, "So we can show you how to do it the right way. 5, 6, 7, 8…"

"I'M NOT DOING THAT DANCE!" Tomo bellowed before the music could start.

"OH SHUT UP!" Makato screamed back.

"Hey, hey! No screaming!" Sensei scolded them, rushing over to our section of the gym. Makato gave Tomo the most evil look I've ever seen. "What seems to be the problem?"

"_Tomo_ here won't do the dance we've planned, Sensei! And nobody else besides me and Makato are doing anything!" Sari whined, trying to make it look like it was _our_ fault we wouldn't do the dance.

Who would?

"Tomo, why don't you want to do the dance?" Sensei asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Have you _seen_ they're dance? It's a girly dance and I'm not doing it! Nobody else likes it besides them two, Sensei!" Tomo argued.

Yes, Tomo-san. Thank you.

"How do you know nobody else likes it? Fuku, Eri, Yuki, do you like the dance?" Sensei asked. All three of us crossed our arms and shook our heads simultaneously. It would've been humorous if Sari and Makato weren't trying to kill me with they're mascara-covered eyes.

Out of nowhere, Makato _lunged_ at me and grabbed my shoulders to shove me against the wall, a stream of colorful words spewing from her lips. She put up a real fight as Sensei tried to pull her off of me, I tried to fight back, and Yuki tried to pull me away from her.

Okay, I disagreed with her dance, but so did everyone else. Why was she singling me out? I hadn't even said anything.

Big surprise.

Sensei took Makato into the locker room to cool down and Sari followed, throwing eye daggers at me.

"I'm sorry, but I was _not_ going to do that girl dance," Tomo sighed, shaking his head.

"Nor was I," Fuku agreed.

"Well, it's Friday and we have nothing done… so maybe we should meet at somebody's house?" Yuki suggested.

"We could go to mine."

The three guys stared at me open-mouthed and even I couldn't believe I had just said that. "Are you sure?" Tomo asked like he actually cared.

"Your mother won't care if you have three _guys_ over?" Fuku put in.

Oh crap.

My mother.

"Uh… she works on Saturdays… so she won't be home. Yeah. It's fine."

_Ah crap!_

The bell rang and I tried to get away as fast as possible, but Yuki stopped me. "Um… what are you doing tonight?" He asked shyly.

My eyes widened as I racked my brain for an excuse. "Nothing," was all I could come up with.

"Do you… want to hang out?"

"Like a _date_?" I blurted out before I could stop myself.

"Well… sort of… yeah…"

"But… you don't know anything about me," I snapped, sounding bitchier than intended. I covered my mouth, but he didn't seem to notice. His eyes were fixed on the floor as if it were the most interesting thing he had seen all day.

"We could… just go as friends?" he suggested. I didn't reply. "See you… at 7:00? At… Ramen Co…?" he asked.

_Oh what could it hurt?_ I asked myself, but my other side was trying to make me say no.

"Alright," I mumbled, cursing myself for falling into his trap. He looked up like he was _happy _that I accepted. "As friends."

"For now. Hopefully," he mumbled so I could barely hear him.

I walked away, cursing myself once again.

-

**Ah yes. Very short. Such a mess our little Eri has gotten herself into, eh? What _will_ she do? **

**Guess you gotta stick around, huh?**

**Brenna**

**+The Girly Man+**


	4. Secret Four

**Hey! I didn't really think this story would be so popular XD It's probably the one I like least out of all of my chapter stories, just because I really hate the original characters I make up. I like Eri though : )**

**Special thanks to CuteCrittersGang for inspiring me to continue : ) and to Edakumi, mura-chan, Cats Go Meow, ****Chaos Valkyrie****, Machi Kuragi, and melting snowflake for their kind reviews! **

**Secret Four**

Secret Number Four: I've never been on a date.

Well… duh.

Big surprise.

"What are you doing?"

Startled, I flinched and turned toward the door. "Ch-Chang… um… nothing…why?"

"Why are you all dressed up?"

"I-I-I… no reason."

"Why do you keep stuttering?"

"I don't know!"

"Why are you so jumpy?"

"Why are you interrogating me?" I snapped. I sighed and decided I should just tell him and get it over with. "I'm going out, okay? I probably won't be out long…"

"You mean, like, with… a _boy_?"

"What's it to you?"

"There's… a boy… who likes you? _You?_"

"Oh shut up, Chang! And he doesn't like me. We're going as friends…"

"Little Eri's going on her first date! La la la la la la…"

"Shut up!" I took a pillow off of my bed and threw it at him.

Chang laughed as he caught it. "Look how mad she's getting… You like him, don't you?"

"No!" I began to throw every thing throwable in site. He caught every thing. "What's his name?"

"None of your business!"

"When do I get to meet him?"

"Tomorrow!"

Chang raised his eyebrows. "What's tomorrow?"

"Well…" I sighed. There was nothing left to throw. "In school, we're in the same group for dance unit… and I told him and two other guys that they could come over, okay? To practice."

"You invited three guys over here?"

I blushed and nodded.

"Well Mom's not gonna like this."

"She's not going to be home… She has to work…"

"Wrong. She has the day off tomorrow."

I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. How was I supposed to explain to Mom if three guys appeared on our doorstep on her day off? I looked up at Chang, my eyes pleading for help.

"Aww come on, kid! Don't cry. I'll take care of everything. Just go out with that kid you like. I'll work something out," Chang told me as I brushed a tear off of my face. I sighed.

"Do I look okay?" I wondered.

"You look fine."

"Thanks," I said, and turned toward the door. "And Chang… I do _not_ like him.

-

"Do you care if… can I… sit down?"

Yuki looked up at me, his expression changing from worried and sad to a pleasant smile. "Miss Eri… sure…" he choked.

As I sat down, I looked at my watch. Only then did I notice that I was ten minutes late.

"I'm sorry… I'm so late…" I mumbled, and Yuki just nodded into his cup of tea. I could sense an awkward silence approaching.

If there's anything I hate more then Makato and Sari, it's awkward silence.

And nervousness.

Both were occurring about then.

I'm such a _dork_. I tried to overcome or ignore the awkward silence by _counting how many words were on the first page of the menu._

I mean…how many flavor combinations of ramen can a person take?

Apparently 24 combinations.

176 words.

I screamed at myself in my head. This was not going well.

I looked up at Yuki to see if he was counting words too.

He wasn't.

He was staring… _at me_.

I couldn't decide if it was creepy or cute or if I had something on my face.

"Umm… yeah?" I asked quietly.

Yuki smiled and shook his head. "It's just… why don't you even wear your hair like that? I mean… to school?"

"Because it looks like crap," I blurted out without thinking. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately… But… what was so special about crappy black-brown hair so long you could sit on it?

"I think it looks cu—nice," Yuki said, blushing.

I was blushing too. "What?"

"I said, I think it looks nice… cute. I think it looks cute."

"Uh… thanks…" I mumbled, and resumed counting the different flavors of Egg Foo Yun.

Awkward silence.

Ack!

"You know what?" Yuki noticed randomly.

"Hmm?" I replied. I was then counting how many combinations of egg rolls and rice could be made.

"I think… we might be the most boring people in this restaurant."

I looked up, wondering if I should've been taking that as an insult.

"I don't mean it in an offensive way," Yuki said quickly, but was smiling. "It's just that… we've been sitting here for a half hour in silence and we're both counting the number of words on each page of the menu."

"How did you know I was counting?" I snapped.

"Because you're saying the numbers out loud."

I sighed and set my menu down, mentally hurting myself for forgetting that annoyingly bad habit.

"Sorry," I mumbled, feeling myself sinking lower and lower into the booth.

"Oh, I don't mind," Yuki smiled that annoyingly adorable smile. "Sometimes I do that too."

Silence.

"So… do you want to eat anything?" Yuki asked me. I shook my head. Those damn butterflies were not giving up in their attempt to destroy my stomach lining.

Yuki didn't order anything either. I secretly wondered if he was just being polite.

I grudgingly—mentally—decided that this was the worst night of my life.

Silence.

"Do you mind if I ask you something?" Yuki asked lamely.

That's right. Regret asking me out.

"Go ahead," I sighed. Anything was better then nothing, I supposed.

"Why didn't you tell anyone you're such a good dancer? Why didn't you stand up for yourself in class today?"

I looked down at the table and my hand balled into a fist. "And I have a question for you, _Prince Yuki_. Why the _hell_ did you ask me out?"

Yuki stared at me with wide eyes, but didn't say a word.

"I'm the lamest girl in Kaibara… I have no friends… Makato and Sari live to torture me. Why did you ask me out? I'm nothing compared to you," I bit my lip, but a tear trickled down my face anyway. "I have the lowest self-esteem out of anyone I know… my mother hates me… I'm a huge geek… my life sucks! Why Sohma-san? Why me?"

Sohma stared at me like I had three heads. "Do you… want to do somewhere else? Somewhere… more private?"

"Why bother?" I sniffeled. "Because it'll be easier to get rid of me…"

"No… of course not. It's just that… Makato and Sari just sat down in the booth behind you."

**Haha cliffhanger!**

**Eh… this story is… so-so… meh. **

**_Que sara sara…_**

**Oh no, I sound like Shigure!**

**I think I spelled that right though… BabelFish sucks…**

**Brenna**

**+The Girly Man+**

**Meh… will I continue…? I don't know… I haven't written anymore yet…**

**What do you think…. Hmmm….**

**That was a long chapter. Strange... 1200 words... sweetness...**

**Anyway. **

**Want me to update?**


	5. Secret Five

**GASP!**

**SIX reviews? For ONE chapter? FIFTEEN reviews? For the whole story?**

**AH!**

**ARIGATO ARIGATO ARIGATO ARIGATO ARIGATO ARIGATO!**

**I hope that's right… hehe! I'm trying to say thank you! That's what my geography fair packet said it is… Anyway…**

**This was a fun chapter. I actually like it! It was fun to write, and now I actually want to finish this story!**

**I drew Eri yesterday. The link is: http/www.deviantart.c om/deviation/32668092/ (Without the space between .c and om) If that doesn't work, you can always go through my homepage profile link and find it there. Check it out, man! lol!**

* * *

**Secret Number Five:**

Secret Number Five: I've never had a first kiss before.

Ha.

DUH!

Hiding my face behind my hair, I snuck a look at who was sitting behind me.

Yep.

I could spot those matching pink hair ribbons a mile away.

"Shit," I whispered, wiping my tears away and meeting eyes with Yuki. "What the hell do we do now?"

"Crud… uh… I don't know…"

His eyes widened.

Makato had spotted him.

Quickly, I slid under the table as I saw two pairs of designer shoes stand next to our table. I would've liked to hear what they were saying, but I was kind of distracted. I was sitting in somebody's old spilled tea, it smelled like the Water Treatment Facility under that stupid table, and there was a _spider_ dangling above my head.

I'm not normally one to get all arachnophobic, but this thing was _huge_, dangling in front of my face and staring at me with its five gazillion eyes like 'Haha! I can scare you!' Desperately, I looked around for something to smack it down with.

Nothing but a soggy old noodle.

"Yuki!" I hissed through my teeth. "Yuki!"

Holding my breath, I reached for the hand next to him on the seat.

It wasn't one of those clichéd 'jolt' feelings or a happy butterfly feelings or what ev. I touched his hand and it felt like someone had poured a vat of hot syrup on me. The feeling dripped slowly from my head down, and once it was done boiling my insides, it froze them.

I couldn't let go. I didn't want to.

"Um… I seemed to have dropped my… napkin," I heard Yuki tell The Puke as a napkin came fluttering down next to my feet. "So… yeah. I have to go anyway. Erm… I'll see you at school on Monday…?"

Thankfully, _finally_, the four shoes clicked away and Yuki slid under the table also.

"Ah… can you _kill this_… or move it or _something_?" I pointed to the spider, which had now almost landed on my chest.

With that annoyingly perfect smile, Yuki picked up the napkin he had purposely dropped just moments prior to and swept the stupid arachnid away quickly.

"Kinda nice down here, huh?" Yuki said. I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic. It was so stupid and dark and cramped with both of us shoved in the space between the wall and the middle table leg. Oh, and I was kind of distracted with his stupid perfect face so freaking close to my stupid ugly one.

"Yeah," I replied, "if you like spiders, gum, and the smell of the Poo Plant."

He laughed his stupid perfect laugh and I laughed my stupid ugly one.

"So what did The Pu—I mean, Makato and Sari say to you?" I wondered.

"Oh, they just asked me what I was doing here."

"To which you responded…?"

"I simply told them I was drinking tea."

"And then?"

"They said I should come to Makato's house tomorrow to practice the dance."

I choked on air.

"I told them I was busy."

"Are you?"

"Well… I thought so. We're going to your house tomorrow, right?"

"Oh God," I sighed. I tried to be quiet, but it was kind of hard with him so close to me. "Yeah… about that… That might not work out. But I'm still trying…"

"We could always go to my house?"

"No," I told him. "It'll be fine. My brother says he's sorting it out."

"Are you… close with your brother?"

"I suppose. I mean, he's got my back. And he's really the only one I have left."

Silence.

"Do you want to… talk about it? I mean, I don't want to be prying, but…"

"I don't want to talk about it. Just family stuff, you know?"

"Yes. I understand."

And before I knew it, I was bawling like a freaking baby.

"Please don't cry, Miss Eri," Yuki whispered, trying to be all comforting. "Please don't cry."

He tilted my chin up. "I'm sorry," I coughed. "I don't know why I'm crying…"

"You know… what you asked me before? Why did I ask you out?"

I nodded.

"I guess it's because… you seemed so different from everybody else. You never tried to force yourself on me like all of the other girls. You never really said anything at all. You seemed so mysterious, yet so helpless. I wanted to get to know you better, even if it meant being trapped under a table at Ramen Co. You looked like… You want a friend, don't you?

"Am I strange for saying that?"

"No," I whispered firmly, wiping my eyes and sitting up.

God, his eyes were so perfect…

"I admire you, Eri," he whispered, his hand still gently placed under my chin.

Aww crap.

He put his lips against mine.

He kissed me.

The freaking _Prince_ kissed me.

Ack!

Banzai…?

I don't know…

"Was that… your first kiss?" he asked slowly as he pulled away.

"Erm… yeah…" I replied, still dazed.

"Mine too."

At first I was shocked, but then I asked myself "Why should I be? I don't know anything about him."

And here I had been thinking he was a man whore.

With a smile that wouldn't fade, we bolted our of the store unseen, giggling the whole way. And the whole time I'm thinking: My first kiss was under a table at Ramen Co. With the Prince. Not many people… Well, I guess nobody else but me can say that. It had been his first kiss too.

And maybe he kissed me again.

You never know.

* * *

**I think that would've been a really cute ending!**

**But it's not. There are still many more chapters to go!**

**As a side note, I'm visiting my town's Water Treatment Center on my sister's birthday (May 12th) as a science field trip. If you didn't know, that's where they clean all of the sewage to make it suitable for putting back in the waters. I haven't been there yet, but my siblings have told me it smells like a mother of POO. My dad attended the same school I did around 30 years ago, and kids have been calling the Water Treatment Center 'The Poo Plant' for over 40 years! I just thought that was REALLY funny, so I HAD to put it in at least ONE of my stories!**

**So thank you for reading!**

**I'll write up chapter six soon, but I'm currently working on another story that's taking up most of my time, and I have a MILLION tests this week. I'll try to update all of my stories soon, though!**

**See ya!**

**Brenna**

**+The Girly Man+**


	6. Secret Six

**Let's see… I haven't updated this story since…**

**May 2nd**

**Hehe… I wrote this chapter on May 3rd. I just forgot I had.**

**(Brenna ducks as everyone throws tomatoes at her)**

**I'm sorry!**

**This chapter was really hard to write. I'm getting really aggravated with this story, sometimes I wish to throw it out the window. But I won't. I'm currently on chapter eight, and may even finish tonight if I feel like it. **

**Blah blah disclaimer yeah.**

**Secret Six**

Secret Number Six: I get self conscious really easily.

Who doesn't?

Right?

Saturday morning, I rushed around my room, trying to make everything look neat, which was a major improvement, because normally I'm a total slob. I was almost done shoving all of my dirty clothes into the clothes hamper when somebody knocked on the back door.

"Eri! What are you doing?"

I was my mom.

"Uh… I… I'm cleaning my room."

DUH.

"Why aren't you studying?"

Why should I be?

"I was just about to," I lied.

"Well anyway, I'm taking your idiot brother to the city to buy some new clothes."

Yes! He had done it! With his picky choosing of clothes, Chang and Mom would be gone all day!

"Oh. Okay," I choked up, trying not to sound excited. She knew I didn't have any friends anyway, so she wasn't really suspecting anything.

"Get your studying done," she commanded, and slammed the door.

I jumped onto my bed and practically turned cartwheels, screaming mental thank-yous to my brother.

-

Mom and Chang had been gone for no more than twenty minutes when the doorbell rang. I bolted to the front door while checking my watch.

"Hey… am I too early?"

"No," I told him. Yuki had come alone, twenty minutes before expected.

Hell, what was twenty minutes?

"You wore your hair down again," he smiled once we got in the house and I had closed the door. Yeah, I had. Although it sounds pretty stupid and girly, when he had told me the night before that I looked cute with my hair down, I swore I would never tie it up again. I managed to smile back.

"And… um… Miss Eri?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think…? I mean… I'm really sorry about last night."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why would you be sorry?"

"Well, because… because it was a pretty crappy date," his voice was shaking, but he managed to laugh.

"Oh, no," I smiled. "I didn't think it was crappy at all!"

He laughed again. "I'm glad. So… do you think… now… I mean… would you…"

The doorbell rang again. God damn, why did these people decided to be so early? I really wanted to hear what he had to say!

"I-I-I'll just tell you later," he sighed, and I opened the door. It was Fuku, who feels that "to be early is to be on time, and to be on time is to be late."

Gag.

We stood there awkwardly before Fuku asked if he could have a glass of water. We three went and sat in the kitchen for twenty more minutes until Tomo finally came, five minutes late actually.

I led them to my room, because that was where there was the most room to practice, sadly. Immediately, Fuku sat his ass down on my couch and started going through my CDs and playing my game boy like he owned the place, and Tomo started going through my dresser drawers like a perv.

"Um… what are you doing?" I asked after about a minute of me and Yuki standing there watching.

Fuku shrugged and continued playing _Mario_, and Tomo received a smack on the head from Yuki after saying some perverted things about my underwear.

Bleh.

"Well… what are we going to do?" Tomo rubbed his sore head with a glare in Yuki's direction.

"Aren't we supposed to practice?" Fuku's _Mario_ game made the 'Game Over noise' and he finally shut it off. I sat down on my bed pillows and leaned against the bed post. Tomo sat next to Fuku and Yuki sat on the far end of my bed.

"How are we supposed to practice if we don't have anything _to_ practice?" Yuki pointed out. He stared at me and I stared back innocently. I assumed he thought I had already planned a dance in my head.

"Well… does anyone know what Makato and Sari are doing?" I asked.

I hadn't meant to sound sarcastic, but the three of them all started laughing at the memory of Makato and Sari's horrible routine.

I managed to crack a smile.

"Well, I remember they already decided on all of the clothes and music," I said after they had stopped laughing.

"Yeah, some girly slutty clothes and that Madonna song," Tomo gagged.

"So," Yuki stood up and faced us, "we should do the exact opposite."

I smiled. That was exactly what I had been thinking.

"So what's the exact opposite of girly clothes and Madonna?" Fuku shrugged.

"Skater clothes and punk rock."

The three of them smiled at my suggestion.

"But… what we wear isn't as important. We're getting graded on our dance. We don't even _need_ music," Yuki said.

Dang.

There was no way I was admitting to two more people that I was good at dancing!

But he was staring at me with those eyes again…!

Quickly, I pulled him by the wrist back into the house. "If you're thinking…"

"Eri, if you don't do this, we're sabotaging our grade," he whispered. Why was he whispering?

"I don't even care anymore," I blinked a few times to fight the crying feeling back down. "Crap. All it is is crap. This is my thing, and I don't want to do this, and nobody can make me! Not even you!"

"Do you realize how selfish you're being?"

"Yes, and I don't care. Shut the hell up already! It'll be better for both of us if you just stay out of my life from now on!"

LIE!

He stared at me blankly and I couldn't even believe I had said that.

"Are you afraid?" he whispered after a minute. "Are you afraid of what they'll think of you?"

"No," I lied, sounding like a little kid.

"Trust me, Eri. You're great. If anyone ever says anything bad about you, just tell me."

What was he, my father?

Gross thought.

After rolling my eyes overdramatically, I stormed back to my room and Yuki followed.

"Turn on the stupid CD. Number 2," I grunted at Fuku, pointing to the Yellowcard _Lights and Sounds_ CD I had just bought last week that had been sitting on my dresser.

The title track came on and after thinking about it for less than two seconds, I began this really lame and easy dance I had just thought up.

After two minutes, I just couldn't take it anymore. I collapsed onto the floor.

"Eri?" everyone asked, and they all rushed over to see if I was hurt.

I wasn't.

I was laughing my head off.

Not really sure what was going on, they started laughing too, uneasily. I was laughing so hard I was crying too. I looked up at Yuki and he smiled that perfect smile, just for me.

No, I didn't have to feel self conscious around these guys.

-

The day went on.

It was around 2 o'clock and we actually had the dance down pretty well. After what seemed like the fifty millionth time through, we all fell onto the floor, out of breath but still laughing.

"Eri! Eri!" I heard somebody above me and I looked up.

"Chang? Oh crap…" I muttered, sitting up. "Is she coming?"

"Get out," Chang said to the three guys, and only Yuki bothered to listen.

"Fuku-san, Tomo-san, let's go," he said, standing up because he sensed something wrong.

"Why?" Tomo asked. "What happened?"

"Just get out!" I tried to push him out the back door.

"Eri… what are you doing?"

Shiznit.

"Mom… I…"

It was no use explaining. The world was numb as she screamed at me about lies and responsibility, while Chang held her back so she wouldn't hit me, I yelled at Yuki, Fuku, and Tomo to leave, and my whole day turned into crap.

Yuki grabbed my hand and we bolted out of the back door, not stopping until we were on the front porch of a house I had never seen before, breathing heavily through my tears.

"I'm sorry, Yuki," I choked. "I should've told you—"

"Don't apologize," he said quietly. "Miss Eri… I have a secret too."

* * *

**Ah! The drama! We all know what Yuki's secret is… but what will he tell ERI? INTENSE!**

**The meeting between Eri and the three guys where they were talking about the opposite of Madonna and stuff was based on actual events! Justina, Pei-Chee and I actually completely changed "Makato and Sari's" dance when we went to Justina's house to practice, just like the characters did: P And we also picked the song _Lights and Sounds_ by Yellowcard, which I didn't write by the way!**

**Hope you stick around! The next chapter is much shorter, but it will be coming out sooner than this one did! This one is really long... and the next chapter is like HALF of this!**

**Thank you!**


	7. Secret Seven

**Holy crud monkeys! That was a TON of reviews! NINE! Whee! I love reviews, if you haven't noticed.**

**Yeah, my brother's down here where I'm typing playing video games and being a poo poo. So this might take a while to type. Even though it's a really short chapter. I'm actually doing a lot better on this story! I'm on chapter 10, and the way it's looking now is that there's going to be A LOT more chapters! So, yippee for you! YIPPEE! YIPPEE!

* * *

**

**Secret Seven**

Secret Number Seven: I'm selfish and oblivious.

This whole time I've been going on and on about all of my stupid problems, and I never stopped to think that there's probably a million worse things out there.

So we were standing there on that porch, which was probably his house or something, his hand still around mine. I was waiting for him to tell his secret or tell me anything at all, when the front door opened and Yuki let go of my hand.

"Oh. Yuki. We were beginning to think you weren't coming back," this guy with black hair, maybe ten years older than me, stood there smiling. "And you've brought us a beautiful visitor. May I ask this pretty young girl—?"

"Shut up," Yuki smacked him in the forehead, "Must you always hit on girls ten years younger than you?"

Well, I was right about the ten year thing. But who the hell was it? He didn't look anything like Yuki.

"Is that… your brother?" I asked, managing to talk despite all of the crap that had just happened.

"No, no. Allow me to introduce myself! I am Shigure Sohma, Yuki's dear and far more handsome cousin," Shigure smiled.

I wanted a needle to pop that guy's ego.

"Okay, great, now come on," Yuki grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the house. Why was he so angry?

"But Yuki-chan, you didn't introduce me—"

"Not now!"

Shigure was now out of sight as Yuki pulled me up the stairs and into a room.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly as he shut the door.

"You didn't do anything," I crossed my arms and tried to pay no attention to him. Damn, it was hard.

"I'm not completely sure why… but I feel like this is my entire fault."

"It's not," I snapped as I stared at the ceiling and blinked a million times. "It's my dad's."

"You really don't have to tell me…"

"It's all his fault! It's his fault my mother hates me! It's his fault my life sucks! It's his fault I do this stupid dancing!"

"Please don't cry…"

My dad had signed me up for that dancing lesson ten years ago.

I had continued dancing because I thought that if I was good enough, he would come back.

But I was never good enough.

And I'm still not.

But… I thought that's what he wanted.

"Never again," I sobbed. "I'm never dancing again."

"Eri… but… you…"

Yuki couldn't think of anything to say, because there _was_ nothing to say. "That'd be a shame."

"Well I don't care!"

Silence.

"Are you happy? When you dance, I mean?"

I sighed a few times and wiped my face with the back of my hand before answering. "It's like… magic. I don't feel anything. I don't remember anything. Everything just… happens."

"Then why would you give that up?"

"Because… I hate reality. I can escape for a few minutes, but then I have to be disappointed when everything comes crashing back into focus."

The look on his face suggested empathy.

"Reality sucks, doesn't it?" he actually managed to laugh.

I nodded, brushing another tear away.

"Can… can I tell you _my_ reality?"

Unsure, I chose to nod.

"May I hug you?"

Not knowing what that had to do with anything, and still unable to speak, I nodded. He sighed, then slowly reached for me and wrapped his arms around me tightly. I was about to hug back, my only moment of comfort in that entire day, until…

_POOF!_

In a puff of smoke, I almost fell over. The smoke cleared, and instead of Yuki being with me, I was holding a tiny, white rat in my hands.

* * *

**Short, I know, but the next one is slightly longer.**

**So what do you think?**

**Brenna… OUT!**

**I'm Ryan Seacrest now **


	8. Secret Eight

**Seven reviews for chapter seven! Oh boy, that makes me so happy!**

**I like Paramore. And Yellowcard.**

**This chapter is quite angsty. Maybe I should change the genre? **

**Nah. I'm good.**

**And news in case you didn't know: I finished this story on June 20th! It is 18 chapters, or 17 chapters and an epilogue. I guess I better get started with posting this! But the way I have it set up in my binder… I finish posting The Sohma Game before I finish posting this! That's strange! I might even have The Big Yellow Bus done by then! **

**But you should stick around for the next 10 chapters!

* * *

**

**Secret Eight**

Secret Number Eight: I'm not surprised easily.

But I was right then.

"Yu… Yuki?" I asked quietly, looking at the rodent in my hands,

"Maybe I should have told you earlier… or not at all…" the rat sighed. Its voice was Yuki's!

"How did you—?"

I shrieked as the door was flung open and this orange-haired kid burst in. I recalled seeing him at school before. I thought he might have been in the remedial algebra class that took place before my honors class…

Hold up! Back to the main problem!

"What the hell happened?" the kid yelled, pointing a finger at the rat. "What did you do now, idiot?"

"Well, obviously, I hugged her," Yuki responded like it was… well… _obvious_. "And you shut up, because you made that mistake with Tohru."

"WHO ARE YOU?" the kid yelled as if he only then realized that I was standing there, ignoring Yuki's last comment.

"I… I'm…" I fell to my knees, into Yuki's pile of clothes. I dropped him out of my hands and buried my face in his shirt, which was lying on the floor. "I'm sorry!" I cried, and started bawling my eyes out.

"Look what you did now, _ass_," Yuki said above me to the other kid, and the orange top's eyes softened on me.

I had no idea what was going on. I had no idea what to do.

And I felt like everything was all my fault.

After all… when was it not?

"Hey, stop cryin'!" the kid crouched down next to me and Yuki scampered up his back onto his shoulder. "Come on, kid! Knock it off! It ain't your fault he transformed, if that's what'chur cryin' about! It's that damn Yuki's fault!"

I looked up through my hands and hair. This kid probably thought he had made me cry and felt guilty.

Too bad, because it was my fault and I knew it.

"I'll get Shigure…" the kid gave up, standing again.

"No you won't, Kyo," Yuki replied.

Kyo. That was his name.

"Well why not?"

"Because Shigure will tell Akito."

"And?"

"And… Eri…"

"It's your fault, ya know. If Eri or whatever her name is is in danger or somethin', it's all your fault. You know no one's supposed to know about us."

"I know."

What the hell were they talking about? Why was I in danger? Who the hell was Akito?

I was about to ask, but before I could open my mouth, I began crying again, and Yuki ran out of the room momentarily. When he returned, he was a human again.

"Could somebody—hic—please—hic—tell me what just happened?" I coughed as Kyo and Yuki sat down in front of me. Yuki wasn't wearing the clothes I had in my hands (he had changed when he had ran out of the room) so I just pushed them away and stared at the two guys.

"There's no real easy way to explain…" Yuki started.

"Wouldn't have had to if Yuki woulda just kept his hands to himself…"

Slap!

"…but we're cursed. Our whole family is, I mean," Yuki said after smacking Kyo on the head.

"Cursed?" I repeated. Curses were bad, deadly even…

"Whenever we're hugged by someone of the opposite sex outside of the others cursed…" Yuki said.

"…we transform into the twelve zodiac animals… and cat," Kyo mumbled.

"That's… that's…" I tried to palliate the situation, but what was I supposed to say to that? How was it possible? "…you looked really cute as a rat!" I said to Yuki, shutting my eyes in stupidity.

Kyo rolled his eyes and walked out of the room, giving up on me.

"Where is he…?" I asked, opening my eyes, but Yuki put his finger over my lips.

"I'll worry about that later," he said, pressing his face against mine and whispering in my ear. My cheek felt wet, suddenly, and I knew it wasn't from my own tears.

"You… you can't hug a girl?" I asked, trying to get clarification. This whole thing seemed like a dream.

"No," Yuki replied, wiping his face as he moved away with a slight smile. "Makes being a teenager kind of hard."

"And how come I'm not supposed to know?"

"Because… the head of the family doesn't want anyone to know. He says… He told me people would be sickened… they'd think I was a freak…"

"I thought you were adorable!" I exclaimed before I realized what I was saying. I hid my face behind my hands. "I don't suppose you _like_ being called cute and adorable…"

"I don't mind," he said, moving my hands away from my face and lacing my fingers through his, "…when you say it."

He stared into my stupid boring gray eyes and I stared back into his amazing violet ones for what seemed like an eternity until he nuzzled my cheek with his nose, his lips barely touching mine. "Eri Rena… can I trust you to keep my secret?"

"Yes," I whispered, liking the feeling of his words against my lips.

I closed my eyes and felt him kiss me, and I kissed back, immediately feeling my insides melt and my body plunge into a pool of ice water.

* * *

**Wow… that was a little fluffy and mushy for my liking.**

**But most of the chapters aren't like that. I mean, the story's about DANCING, right? So there has to be more dancing in it… VERY SOON!**

**Thank you for your time : )**


	9. Secret Nine

**Sorry this took so very very VERY long to update… I haven't had much time to type anything really this summer. But now I'm listening to AFI and everything's good. MISS MURDER! Whoo. I love that song.**

**This is where I shall plug my MySpace RPG. PLEASE somebody JOIN! Link in my profile, and Rin, Tohru, Kyo, Momiji, and Hatsuharu are taken. Your help would be appreciated, since it's a lot more fun with more people.**

**Thank Edakumi for this chapter because this was actually AFTER The Sohma Game in order of update, but she wanted the next chapter sooner than that!

* * *

**

**Secret Nine**

Secret Number Nine: I get scared easily.

You should've seen me the first time I tried to watch _The Ring._

I fell asleep twice in math class that week because I couldn't go to sleep at home.

After all of the commotion had died down as much as it was going to, it dawned on me that I would have to go home eventually. It also dawned on me that night was falling, Chang had most likely served my punishment, and it was my turn to cook dinner.

"I… I have to go home," I told Yuki. He had brought me to the dining room and we were sitting there drinking tea.

He chewed on the inside of his cheeks, succeeding in looking cute, while he thought.

"Do you _want_ to go home?"

"Hell no," I blurted out. Of course I didn't want to, but what about Chang? I couldn't just leave him there with angry mom.

"I could… maybe… that is… ask Shigure if you can stay… for the weekend?"

"I… I don't know. Do you think Shigure would suspect that I know the secret?"

"Shigure is too oblivious to pick up on anything," Yuki smirked.

"Am I now?"

Shigure walked in with his own cup of tea and sat down beside Yuki, across the table from me.

"Yeah, actually," Yuki rolled his eyes.

"Um… Shigure-san? I'm really sorry I barged in like this… I hope I haven't caused too much trouble…" I mumbled, staring at my tea cup like I expected it to start turning back flips.

"Oh no, no trouble at all! It's perfectly fine with me if it makes our dear Yuki happy."

"Can Eri stay over? For the weekend?" Yuki asked like it was something that was asked everyday.

Shigure stared at Yuki, wide-eyed.

"What's that look for?" Yuki snapped darkly.

"What are you planning on doing, over night?" Shigure asked.

Yuki's face turned bright red and I was sure mine was too. "Not like that, you dirty pervert!" Yuki hit him on the back of his head, standing up.

"Fine, fine! I don't care, Yuki-chan. As long as it is okay with her parents and no children are created in my house.

"Oh stop!" Yuki yelled, and stormed up the stairs.

"Umm… I'm sorry again. _Ojama shimasu_," I bowed my head, which I should have said earlier but was too preoccupied.

"It's not trouble, really," Shigure smiled. Then suddenly his face because dark as I stood up to follow Yuki. "But if I were you, I'd stay at this house as short as you possibly can. This house holds dark secrets, none of which you can relate to."

"O-O-Okay," I stuttered. "Um… can I use your telephone?" I asked just to change the subject.

"Oh, absolutely. It's just through the kitchen and down the hall," Shigure's smile became bright again.

"Thanks… heh…" I said, and ran to that phone as fast as I could.

Once there, I wasn't sure what to do. If I called the house, mom might have answered, and I certainly did not want to talk to her. But Chang and I didn't have cell phones and he might not have been home anyway.

I put the phone down again, too afraid to use it. I would just have to pray that Chang wasn't there and everything was okay.

I turned and walked back into the kitchen, only now a girl was in there cooking. I recognized her from my chemistry class.

"Tohru Honda?" I said, and she looked up in surprise.

"Y-yes?" she stammered. "Can I help you with something?"

She probably didn't know who I was. "I'm… Eri. I'm in your chemistry class."

"Oh, she smiled, pretending to know who I was while I felt embarrassed. "Uh, I don't mean to be rude, but how did you get in here?"

"I'm with… Yuki," I replied.

"Yuki?"

I nodded. She stared at me like I had just told her I was here to murder her. "Why are… you here?" I asked.

"Oh! Well… I… um…"

"She lives here."

Kyo was in the doorway.

"Are you… a family member?" I asked.

"Oh… no… I'm not!"

"She lives here because she got nowhere else to go, so get your damn nose out of it," Kyo snapped at me, and I nodded, blinking back tears.

"Kyo… you don't have to be rude…" Tohru blushed quietly.

"She lives here because she knows the secret, god dammit! With any luck Shigure will find out you know too and you'll be out of our hair."

I didn't understand. Why was he being so _mean?_ I hadn't done anything to him! Unless he was just angry that Yuki told me about the curse?

"Gomen…" I started.

"Kyo-kun, when you say it like that it seems like you're mad!" Tohru shrieked, almost cutting her hand while chopping an onion.

"I am mad. I'm mad I met you! It's always about you!"

"I'm sorry but I don't know what you're talking about…" I mumbled, ashamed without knowing why.

"His diary. Yuki, I mean. You're all he ever writes about anymore. Past three days I've had to read about how damn pretty you are! It's sick!"

Tohru and I looked at him for a minute before Tohru started giggling and I blushed so hard I thought I'd fall over.

"You read Yuki-kun's diary, Kyo-kun?" Tohru asked through her giggles.

"Well he hides it under his _bed_, I mean, is there a more obvious place? You should read some of the _angst_ that kid can come up with."

I stepped forward a few times. "I think… I'd better… go find Yuki…"

"I'll find him for ya," Kyo decided. "Just… I don't know, talk to Tohru or somethin'."

Kyo darted up the stairs and I just kind of looked at Tohru for a minute.

"It's sad, isn't it?"

Tohru set her knife down but didn't look up.

"I mean… for the Sohmas. They're cursed… and there's no way out."

She was crying, and I thought I might've cried too.

"Tohru… where are they're parents?" I asked. It had been bothering me. "Yuki and Kyo's, I mean."

"They… they abandoned them."

My eyes widened and I steadied myself by placing a hand on the kitchen counter.

"And Kyo… his mom… passed away."

"Because of the curse?" I whispered, and she nodded.

"I can't imagine how sad it must be," Tohru said quietly as another tear fell onto the cutting board, "to never be able to hug your mother."

I thought about my mother. Sure, she had a temper problems, but sometimes… sometimes she was okay. Like when she didn't say anything, or before dad left. No matter how upset she was about my father leaving…

…she never abandoned us.

"I never realized…" I whispered, clenching my fist into a ball. "Yuki's so popular at school. And you're the only one who ever found out.

Tohru nodded and Yuki entered the kitchen, followed by Kyo. I ran to Yuki, my eyes red with tears, and threw myself into his arms until he turned into a rat.

"I'm sorry. For everything," I apologized, holding him in my hands.

"Please, Eri. Don't pity me."

* * *

**So… did you like it? Reviews would make me smile.**

**And while you're at it, why don't you check out the RPG information in my profile?**


	10. Secret Ten

**I can't think of a spiffy author's note so I'm not going to. This chapter is short. Sorry. Poop.

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**

**Secret Ten**

Secret Number Ten: Sometimes I care too mush.

Mostly it was about school or my brother, because there was really nothing else to care _about_.

But now…

On Saturday night I had slept on the couch in the living room, and I spent most of Sunday by myself on that same couch. I was just trying to let everything soak in: disobeying my mom, Yuki's curse, my decision to stop dancing, and dreaded Wednesday, when our group presentations would take place in gym.

It was Sunday night and it was really clear outside, so Yuki and I were laying on the rooftop, staring up at the stars. It was decided that I would return home after school tomorrow, and that I would borrow one of Tohru's uniforms to do so. Thankfully, we hadn't been assigned any homework over the weekend so I didn't have to worry about anything…

except for the dance.

"I like to come up here sometimes," Yuki said quietly, holding my hand. "To think, you know?"

I nodded, but I was sure that no matter how hard I tried, I would never understand.

"So…" he sighed, turning onto his side to face me more. "What do you want to talk about?"

I sighed also. "Do you care… if I ask you something?"

"I don't mind."

"Did… Did your mother really abandon you, like Tohru said?"

Yuki nodded.

"I'm s—"

Yuki put his finger over my lips. "Please. I don't want you to apologize anymore."

I nodded.

"My mother… she wasn't ready for children when she gave birth to my brother, and she still wasn't ready, ten years later, when she had me."

"You have a brother?"

"Yes. Ayame. He's the same age as Shigure. Anyway, she was too preoccupied to us, me especially. She gave me away… to Akito, the head of our zodiac family, when I was very little. He's only a few years older than us, and… I didn't get along with him well… so I moved in with Shigure before high school."

I felt like there was more he wasn't telling me, but I didn't want to pry. After all, it wasn't any of my business.

"I've always blamed my mother… but sometimes I think I understand how she feels. To have your first son change into an animal whenever you hugged him… and then, ten years later, to have the same thing happen… how horrible she must have felt. Sometimes I blame myself."

"Your brother is in the zodiac too?"

Yuki smirked. "He's the snake."

Ugh. Don't snakes _eat_ rats?

"Now it's my turn to ask you a question," Yuki decided, and I sighed.

"Go ahead."

"Did you mean it when you said you would never dance again?"

Sigh.

"Yes," I said.

"Why?"

"Because… I miss my dad."

Silence.

"He signed me up for the dancing lessons when I was little. Before he left my mom, they got into a big argument, over me. My dad wanted to take me with him, but my mom wouldn't let him, so he ran away. He never came back, and he said he wasn't going to. Now everytime I dance my mom gets upset and yells. She yells all the time now. But I've kept dancing because… I thought that if I was good enough… my dad would come home. I guess I was just being selfish."

"What about Wednesday? Are you going to dance on Wednesday?"

I sighed, getting sick of the tears that seemed to be constantly falling down my face.

"I don't know, Yuki. I honestly don't know."

* * *

**That was boring.**

**You can tell me it was.**


	11. Secret Eleven

**Grahhhh my Kami-sama this story is SO boring to type. SO boring. Which is why I hate updating this. Or maybe it's because I don't like Yuki now. Rin and Haru equals life. I'm just trying to get this done so I can get Haitoku no Jounetsu up soon, which I am very, very excited about. I just don't want to get too caught up and post a million stories at once like I'm currently fighting down right now. I should've waited for Ichirin no Hana too, but that was my stupid mistake… grr…**

**But I think the reason I keep typing it is CuteCrittersGang. They always leave such nice comments.**

**You should join The Black Parade. Heck yes. Word.**

**And you should read Juste (invisible gnomes ate my ramen)'s new story. 'Tis vurry funny.

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**Secret Eleven**

Secret Number Eleven: I really don't like arguing with people. I really don't.

I'm bad at it too.

I couldn't persuade a fat kid to eat some cake.

My persuasion skills suck.

After spending all of gym in the nurse's office pretending to be sick on Monday, and after avoiding Yuki for the rest of the day, it was time to go… home.

"Eri!"

I was almost out of the school when I heard my name being called.

Yuki.

"Oh… hi… I'll bring Tohru her uniform back tomorrow, if that's what you're wondering."

"Oh, okay," he smiled. "I'll tell her. Can I walk you home?"

"Sure… thanks…" I replied, and we began the stupid walk to my stupid house.

"Are you going to be in trouble? For being gone the whole weekend?" Yuki asked, his eyes fixed on the pebble he was kicking along the ground.

"Oh, no. I bet my mom didn't even notice," I answered, honestly.

"I'm glad you stayed over," Yuki blushed. "I was glad we could talk to each other."

"Me too. Normally there's…"

"…nobody," we said at the same time.

"And my… _secret_… still doesn't bother you?"

I shook my head.

"Okay… then… do you think… maybe… doyouwanttobemygirlfriend?"

I blinked at him. "What?"

"Do… you… want… to… be… my… girlfriend?" he said, slower and quieter. "You don't have to… I just…"

I answered by stopping and kissing him quickly.

"I take that as a yes?"

I nodded, and then I heard…

"ERI!"

Both of us looked up. We were in front of my house, and Chang was running toward me from the doorstep.

"CHANG!" I yelled with a laugh, and he gave me the biggest big-brother hug, picking me up and swinging me around.

The commotion ended when Chang set me down and stared Yuki in the eye. "Who are you?"

"Yuki Sohma," Yuki replied, not intimidated even though Chang weighed at least 70 pounds more than him.

"Who… Eri… is this your _boyfriend_?"

"…Yeah," I replied, blushing.

Chang stopped laughing long enough to glare at Yuki again. "If you're my sister's boyfriend… you better take good care of her!" Chang decided.

"Yes, sir," Yuki replied, still unafraid.

"Ah well. Come, Eri-chan. Into the house with you. We have lots to discuss before mom comes home," Chang decided, pulling me by the arm.

"Bye, Yuki!" I called over my shoulder, considerably happier. "Thanks for everything!"

"Yeah, yeah, come on, Little Miss Eri," Chang rolled his eyes with a smile, and we entered the house. "So… where were you?"

"Last weekend?" I asked, putting my school books down and getting myself a glass of water from the kitchen.

"No duh."

"I stayed at a friend's house."

"Who? Twig Boy?"

I rolled my eyes. "That's not his name."

"Close enough. I'm glad you're back though. Mom… she…"

"Did she hurt you?"

"No…"

"Did _she_ get hurt?"

"No… well… she's at work… but… she cried all weekend."

It felt like I had just dumped the glass of water on my head. Mom? _My_ mom? The one who never shows any emotion but anger? "Why?"

"She thought you had run away from her, like dad did."

Like dad did.

"I wanted to run away… I never wanted to come back. I was so afraid to even call and tell you where I was."

"Well, I'm glad you're here now. You did the right thing. Maybe all you needed was a weekend away."

"Yeah. I guess so. And… thanks for trying to help me out on Saturday."

"That's what big brothers are for, right?" Chang smiled, ruffling my hair. "And… that Twig Boy didn't do anything dirty to you, did he?"

"No!" I flicked him, laughing. "He wouldn't do that! And that's not his name!"

"By the way… how's your dance group thingy going?"

Eh.

"Chang… I'm never dancing again."

"Eri?"

I looked up, and there in the doorway was my mom.

She looked like a mess; her eyes were swollen and puffy, her hair looking like it hadn't been combed in days, and her nurse's outfit hanging limp, loose, and dirty.

I felt… _sorry_ for her. I felt sorry that I had left for so long…

"Mom!" I yelled, and we ran toward each other, meeting in a tight embrace.

"I'm so sorry, Eri… my baby… you're back… I'm so sorry for scaring you…"

'_I can't imagine how sad it must be to never be able to hug your mother,' _I heard Tohru Honda say in my mind, and a tear rolled into my mom's hair, which smelled of cigarettes and sadness.

"I love you, mom. Thank you for never leaving me."

* * *

**That's a tear-jerker.**


	12. Secret Twelve

**This story is almost done… yay. **

**I'm watching funny videos on YouTube. I like Muffins, Shoes, and Love Letters. Haha.**

**And I'm also eating tacos. **

**Yay.**

**I finished Haitoku no Jounetsu. It is 13 chapters. All are full of angst. I am mostly just telling this to Debbie, because I know we are both very excited for it. I don't know whether to rate it T or M yet though. I guess I'll have to ask you guy's opinions on that... I'm excited for it!

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**Secret Twelve**

Secret Number Twelve: I'm a bad liar.

I guess it's just because I'd rather tell the truth.

It was Tuesday's gym class, the day before presentations. Still refusing to dance, I sat on the sidelines against the wall. I would've been in the nurse's office, but she had told me that there wasn't anything the least bit wrong with me and if I didn't stop arguing I would be late for class.

Yuki had told me that the day before, Makato and Sari had willingly done the dance we had planned at my house. But that was only because I wasn't there, and _YUKI_ had taught it to them.

Now they were refusing to dance, as was I.

Tomo and Fuku were still too embarrassed to look at me, but everyone once in a while Yuki would shoot a glance in my direction.

It was amusing listening to Makato and Sari's argument. Somehow, they had found out that I was the one that had made up the dance, and now didn't want any part of it.

"You're so stupid, Tomo!" Makato shrieked, which, although it wasn't a lie, it still wasn't a very nice thing to say.

"Makato-chan, Sari-chan, does it really matter who made up the dance? We all know it, it's simple enough, and presentations are tomorrow."

There goes Yuki again, trying to be the nice guy.

"Yes it does! The dance is stupid… and I hate that stupid little whore!" Makato pointed a finger at me that wasn't all very threatening. I didn't really care, though, because the moment the last word was out of her mouth, Yuki, Tomo, and Fuku were glaring at Makato with such intensity that I was almost scared.

"Don't you _ever_ talk about Eri that way again," Yuki commanded, crossing his arms.

"Yeah! Or you'll have to deal with me, bitch!" Tomo declared, punching his fist into his hand.

"Me too!" Fuku decided, throwing a fist in the air.

Were things… looking up? I had a long talk with my mom about all that had happened the night before, Yuki spent every minute he could talking to me, and I had two other guys who were willing to defend me in the hideous, make-up coated face of evil?

"We will not stand for this!" Sari bellowed as if all of these guys that were undoubtly larger than her were intimidated.

"SENSEI!" Makato hollered across the gym as if her life depended on it. Of course, the whole gym had heard and was staring at our group.

Sensei, dreading it obviously, jogged over to our group. She immediately noticed me on the floor. "Rena! You hurt?"

"No, I—"

That was all I could get out, because Makato and Sari burst over with "Tomo called me a bitch," "Eri won't do anything," and "Nobody will listen to us."

"HOLD ON!" Sensei yelled at the bickering puke. "Calm _down_, everyone! Now, will somebody _please_ tell me why Rena is on the ground?"

"Makato and Sari won't do the dance because Eri made it up!" Tomo blurted out.

"…Eri is on the floor because she refuses to dance," Yuki said quietly.

"See, Sensei! Eri refuses! Fail her!" Makato shrieked.

Fail. Shudder.

"It's more than that, Sensei, it's fa—personal stuff," Yuki tried to explain, and Tomo and Fuku immediately looked embarrassed upon remember Saturday.

"Rena, you got a mouth?" Sensei barked at me.

"Yes," I replied.

"Then use it."

"Well… nobody wanted to do Makato and Sari's dance except for Makato and Sari… so the four of us made up our own. Yesterday those two were fine with it, but today they found out that I made it up and refuse to have any part in it."

"And why are you refusing to dance?"

I blushed. "Because…"

"Sensei, may I talk to Eri in the hall for a minute?" Yuki put in quickly.

"Hurry," Sensei crossed her arms, and Yuki grabbed my wrist and led me out the door and Tomo and Makato continued arguing.

"Do you still refuse to dance?" Yuki asked quietly once the gym door was close. The hallway was completely empty.

"Yes," I replied, knowing that he was far too close to me than was allowed during school hours.

"The presentations are tomorrow."

"I know."

Yuki bit his lip, "You know you're going to fail if you don't dance, right?"

"Right."

My eyes darted around the hallway, trying to avoid eye contact. There was a girl with a cell phone at the end of the hall, watching everything we did.

"Is there any way I can persuade you, Eri? We really need your help."

He was getting closer, and that girl was still staring. That's when I saw her gold badge. Motoko Minagawa, Prince Yuki Sohma Fan Club president.

"No," I said firmly. "Why do you care so much anyway?"

"Because I love you, Eri. And it would be a waste to give your dancing up."

A chill went down my spine. "There somebody watching us," I hissed.

"Let them see," Yuki whispered, and I wasn't sure if he meant I should let that girl see him kiss me, or if I should let the whole class see me dance. Whichever, his lips were against mine, the girl was running back down the hallway, and my happy day automatically went to the brown note.

* * *

**Yay for Yuki OOC-ness!**


	13. Secret Thirteen

**Sorry for lack of updates… and yeah. WHOOT. Me and Juste love GEE! GEE! GEE! GEE!

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**

**Secret Thirteen**

Secret Number Thirteen: When someone or something makes me upset, I don't get over it.

I can hold a grudge like you've never seen.

After school, I threw my backpack across my room, not caring where it landed, what it broke, or how much homework I had. I was desperately trying to clear my head of everything that had happened since Sensei first announced that we were starting dance unit. It was kind of like one of those times where you want to crawl under a rock and never crawl back out.

I was sitting on my bed absentmindedly stroking the hair on my Teddy bear's nose when I heard a tapping sound. My back porch bedroom has windows that line all of the walls, and a lot of times birds end up flying into them, so I ignored it for a little bit until the tapping became pounding and yelling and shaking of the doorknob, and most birds can't do that. I looked up and saw who it was.

Tomo and Fuku, with Yuki timidly behind them.

I threw my teddy bear aside and it fell among all of the other crap that covered the floor. I unlocked the door and Tomo flung it open like an ass. The three of them piled inside without a word.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked, sitting back down on my bed. I hadn't even noticed that my face was wet from crying.

"We've come to save you!" Tomo decided, throwing a grocery bag on my bed.

"From what?" I snapped, not even looking at the bag.

"Presentations are tomorrow, and if you don't dance, frankly… we're screwed," Fuku decided. It sounded kind of funny when he said it.

"Nothing you say _or do_ can change my mind," I crossed my arms, shooting a vicious look at Yuki, who looked either embarrassed or ashamed.

Or both.

"Have you forgotten?" Yuki asked quietly.

"Probably. Forgotten what?"

Tomo pointed to the grocery bag. "You know… our plan to do the exact opposite of Makato and Sari?"

I looked in the bag.

"You…"

In the bag was the smallest black piece of fabric attempting to be a skirt and the skimpiest and lowest cut tank top I had ever seen. "I thought—"

"We changed it a bit… well… _yours_," Fuku told me.

"You went out and bought this so I could look like a slut!?" I screamed, staring directly at Yuki.

"It wasn't my idea!" he exclaimed, blush creeping up his face. "It was Tomo!"

That perv. I glared at Tomo.

"What? They're my sister's," he blushed. I wondered if his sister was a whore.

Why was I wondering? These clothes weren't even suitable _underwear_.

Ugh.

"I am not wearing that. It's disgusting," I said, throwing it off of my bed. "And I'm not dancing either!"

The three of them looked defeated, until Yuki's face lit up. "Tomo-san… Fuku-san… can you wait outside for a minute?" he asked them, and with no other choice, they trotted out the door.

"Go away," I barked, moving onto the floor with my back to him. "I'm not in the mood to talk to you."

"Could you just listen then?"

I sighed and didn't respond.

"Well… I… Eri, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I've tried to be so pushy, I'm sorry I invaded your personal space, and I'm sorry you're upset."

"I'm not upset," I lied.

There goes my bad acting again.

"Yes, you are," he sat down next to me and I moved away.

We both sighed.

"How are things? I mean, with your family?" he decided to ask after a while. Sigh.

"My brother's fine, I'm okay with my mom, and I just now found out that my dad's dead," I coughed. "And now he's never coming home. It's impossible. And this whole time I've been dancing and hoping for no god damn reason."

"I'm really sorry," he said, and he might've meant it. "Well… that damn Kyo… he told Shigure that you found out about the curse."

Oh crap. "And?"

"Akito wants to erase your memory."

My eyes widened. "Can he do that?"

"Akito can do whatever he wants."

_I would be sad to forget… wait, shut up! You're supposed to be mad at him!_ "He would make me forget everything I know about you?" I asked, and he nodded. We made eye contact.

"I guess… it would be better that way. I mean, if you forgot that we were ever 'dating'…"

"But… I…"

_I don't want to forget!_

"I…"

_Please! Don't make me!_

"I love you!" I shrieked, and covered my mouth. Yuki just smiled that sad smile of his.

"I'm very happy that you feel the same way I do," he said, kissing me on the cheek. "But… Akito doesn't care. I think it'll be best if we go."

"Now?" I said, my eyes darting around the room for a piece of scrap paper.

"Yes," he stood and extended his hand to help me up. "And… you don't have to wear those clothes if you don't want to."

I just smiled to hold in my fear.

"Uhh… let me just go tell my brother that I'm leaving," I lied, and darted into the house.

I found a pad of paper and a pen in the kitchen and jotted down a note as quickly as I could. I ripped it off and shoved it in my pocket, then darted back to him.

"Ready," I said, and after we told Tomo and Fuku that we would be right back, I was walking into the biggest disaster of my life.

* * *

**There are three chapters and an epilogue left.**

**Pizza time.**


	14. Secret Fourteen

**Nearly over… -big smile-**

**Sorry for the emo-ness of this chapter in advance. **

**I must be emo. Hell yeah.

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**Secret Fourteen**

Secret Number Fourteen: Sometimes I believe in magic.

I don't believe in little fairies flying around and Peter Pan never growing old, but I believe in some kinds, sometimes. After all, you can't really scientifically explain the Sohma Curse.

"Are you afraid?" Yuki asked me as we came upon a huge wooden door marked 'Sohma'.

"Are you… are you sure we have to do this?" I stuttered.

Yuki rolled up his left sleeve, revealing a red scar of a whip. "Akito wasn't very happy with me when he found out that I just plain told you… He says it'll be ten times worse if I don't get rid of you.

Rid of me? "What about Tohru? How come she didn't have her memory erased?"

"Because… she lives with us," Yuki stammered, and something told me he was lying. He grabbed my hand tightly and led me through the estate, stopping at a seemingly random house and knocking on the door.

"Yuki," the tall man in a doctor's coat said as he answered the door. His eyes—or the one that wasn't covered by hair—landed on me. I stared up, wide-eyed. "You've brought a friend."

"She… Akito told you about her."

"Oh. The one you told. I see. Come in… please."

Yuki grabbed my arm because I wouldn't have been able to move if he didn't drag me.

We came into a huge room piled high with books, and the man sat me down in the middle of it. He sat across from me, and Yuki sat next to me.

"Are you erasing your memory of me?" I asked Yuki quietly.

"No. I will never forget you," he whispered, holding my hand tightly.

"I am Hatori Sohma, the Sohma doctor," the man—Hatori—told me. "Unfortunately, you know about our secret, and under strict rules, you cannot. I will now wash away your memory of everything you know about the Sohmas and the curse, the time you spent at Shigure's home, and every moment you have spent with Yuki. I'm sorry."

_Don't cry… don't cry… don't cry…_

"Take a deep breath, relax, and close your eyes. Although you will forget everything about Yuki, he will remember everything about you," Hatori said quietly. He placed his hand on my forehead and I closed my eyes, only I couldn't take a deep breath because I was in hysterics, and I couldn't relax because… I was in hysterics.

"This will not hurt. Do not be afraid," Hatori boomed.

"I love you, Eri," Yuki squeezed my hand. "And I always will.

"I love you… Yuki…" I replied quietly, and there was a flash of blinding white light. If felt like a thousand cannons were going off in my head, and Hatori's hand was a two ton weight against my head.

Then everything went black and I fell backwards onto the ground.

-

I opened my eyes slowly, and I was in a room I had never seen before. My head was pounding. "Where am I?" I asked, though I was unsure if anybody else was with me. I found the strength to sit up.

I almost screamed. Prince Yuki—the most popular boy at my school—was sitting right next to me! I looked at my watch. It was 5 o'clock. We obviously weren't at school.

"I found you in front of the house," Yuki said, and fireworks went off in my stomach. "You were passed out… it's Eri, right? We're in the same dance group for gym."

Oh yeah! I remembered. I was taking a walk and I got lost. I guess Yuki had found me.

…lucky me.

"Uh… yes. Thank you, very much," I said, getting to my feet and bowing a few times. Why did I have to be so geeky? He probably thought I was a total dork…

"Would you like me to walk you home?" he asked me. At first I was thinking _No! He's too perfect!_ but then I thought _If Makato and Sari found out, they'd be so jealous,_ so I nodded a few times.

"Tomo and Fuku are already at your house, I think," Yuki told me as we walked. "They brought by some clothes for you to wear for out dance presentation tomorrow. But the clothes are rather… um… I don't know if you'll want to wear them."

An image of this slutty outfit sitting n a grocery bag on my bedroom floor went through my head for a second. "Uh… yeah. I think Tomo told me about it."

It felt so weird talking to him. I mean, I never talked to him at school, but he knew who I was and was actually talking to me.

We got to my house and Tomo and Fuku were waiting in the back yard.

"Where did you guys go?" Fuku asked, and I was confused. We didn't _go_ anywhere, we had just arrived…

"Uh… never mind," Yuki said. "So are we ready for the dance tomorrow?"

"Eri, are you going to wear the clothes?" Tomo asked.

"Uh… sure… If you want me to…" I mumbled.

"We're gonna show those two bitches not to mess with us!" Tomo and Fuku laughed, and Yuki instead stared directly at me. There was something indescribable in his eyes.

Sadness?

"Are you okay?" I dared to ask.

Yuki's sadness turned into a smile. "Yes. It's just… I'll miss you."

What was he talking about? "Well… I'll see you tomorrow, won't I?"

He nodded. "Just… never mind. Tomo-san, Fuku-san, let's go."

The three walked away, Yuki with a mysterious glitter in his eye, and I was left there with a gut feeling that something was different. Sometimes was wrong.

Something was… missing.

* * *

**Bet you weren't expecting that.**

**MySpace time.**


	15. Secret Fifteen

**Alerts aren't working (what else is new?) but I'm going to post this anyway because it's really short and I don't care much about it anyway.**

**I'm going to post a new one-shot when alerts start working again, though, so look for it. I already typed it : D It really is very short. Like, 300 words. So yeah.**

**Special thanks to Animelovergirl101, who sat there and reviewed every single chapter in order. I think it's so cool when people just sit there and read the whole story. Thanks! And of course, all of the other spiffy people I love. Terra and Debbie. YAY.

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**Secret Fifteen**

Secret Number Fifteen: I get really nervous before performances.

Which is weird because, you know, I've performed a lot.

Tomo and Fuku kept asking me if I still refused to dance, which I thought was kind of weird. I never said I refused to dance…

So anyway, it was five minutes until gym class and I was sitting in second period shaking like a freaking leaf. I would change into my slutty outfit, we would do the dance, Makato and Sari would look like idiots if they didn't do it, and when it was all over, the stupid drama would be too.

I hoped.

The bell rang, signaling the end of second period, and I practically jumped out of my seat. After gathering my things, I almost ran down the hallway to the locker room from nerves.

The outfit Tomo's sister owned was probably why uniforms were established at Kaibara. The skirt barely covered my underwear, and I constantly felt like the shirt was going to fall off. I had straightened my hair and left it down although I prefer wearing it in a ponytail, I had worn (as Tomo's perverted idea) a black bra that was so easily visible through the rips in the shirt, and a pair of black Converse and black knee high socks. After caking my eyes with punker make up and tying a plain black tie around my neck, I looked in the locker room mirror.

I looked like I had just come from the prostitute convention.

But according to Tomo, that was a good thing.

Sick.

With a final sigh, I washed my hands and walked into the gym with my Yellowcard CD in hand. I saw Tomo and Yuki (dressed like punks themselves) at the other side of the gym and waved like a dumbass. I was going to walk over to them until three people stepped in front of me.

Makato, Sari, and Motoko Minagawa.

"Excuse me…" I said quietly, and tried to walk passed them.

"You're not going anywhere," Makato said.

"And what the hell are you wearing?" Sari snapped, probably mad that my skirt was shorted than hers and my bra was more revealed.

All of a sudden, Motoko just _charged_ at me, forcing me to back up down the hallway. "I saw you yesterday," Motoko sneered.

"What do you mean?" I asked, pretending I didn't know what she was talking about. I knew she meant when Yuki walked me home…

"How dare you kiss Prince Yuki!" Sari shrieked.

_WHAT?_ Like that would ever happen! "I don't know what you're talking about! I've never—"

Before I could explain anything, I was shoved into a hall locker by Makato.

"Nobody messes with the Minagawa sisters," Motoko said, holding up her camera phone. There I was, kissing Prince Yuki outside of the gym, not far from where I was currently shoved into a locker. "Or Prince Yuki!"

"Or Sari!" Sari declared, probably feeling stupid because she wasn't a Minagawa sister. I guess all Minagawas were bitches. But how could they make that picture? It looked so real!

Before I could steal a second glance at it, the phone was put away, the locker was slammed shut, I had a miserable headache, and a lock was placed on the handle outside.

I was stuck, and visions of a shadow holding my hand and a bright white light kept flashing in my mind's eye.

* * *

**Sorry for the shortness.**

**Joe wasn't at school today : ( He's sick. And he'll miss the algebra test tomorrow… sigh...**

**So anyway, I guess I'll be going to the basketball game now… Have a happy Thanksgiving for all you Americans if I don't post anything by then.**


	16. Secret Sixteen

**LAST CHAPTER. SOB!**

**I shall get the epilogue up soon. It's only one page to type. So yup. XD**

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEBBIE-CHAN!**

**Secret Sixteen**

Secret Number Sixteen: I'm not what you'd call _headstrong_ when it comes to certain things.

My head was pounding so hard I thought it would explode. I tried multiple times to open the locker to no avail, and the hallway was completely empty so nobody could hear my screams and pounding. I gave up yelling because it made it even hotter in that stupid hell box and claustrophobia made it unable for me to move. I kept seeing that white light…! Maybe it meant I was about to die?

Since I obviously had enough time, I took some halfway deep breaths and thought for a while. That picture that Motoko had… that was obviously fake. I think I'd know if I had kissed someone, especially if it was Prince Yuki. I've never kissed anyone… and I've barely ever talked to him! Pictures could easily be made with a computer program… Maybe she took a picture of someone that _looked_ like me and one that looked like Prince Yuki and put them together.

What a bitch. Who would do that?

A bitch.

I almost laughed until I came back to reality and began to feel suffocated.

"Come on, dammit!" I yelled, pounding on the door weakly. I shook the inside of the handle. It made a loud noise that would hopefully echo down that damn long hallway.

Where were the three guys? Didn't they see those three bitches take me down the hall? Weren't they looking for me?

No, of course not. I'm just stupid Eri Rena. My existence doesn't matter to anyone.

I leaned again the back of the locked and sighed. Shit, there was a spider dangling above my head!

I had a flashback type thing for a minute. I was sitting in a small place, similar to now; it smelled like the Poo Plant, and there was a spider dangling over my head. Someone else was there too, a shadow. They leaned forward and kissed me as there was a pounding on the locker door. I couldn't see who the shadow was. It seemed so familiar and real, though. What were all these flashbacks to things that had never happened?

Maybe I was going psycho.

"Is someone in there?" a voice yelled outside the door.

I almost shrieked in joy. "Yes! Help!"

"This is Tomo. And Yuki's picking the lock," Tomo told me.

Eep! Yuki? "It's Er—"

Before I could finish my name, the door opened and I fell out. Yuki caught my wrists and help me up so we wouldn't fall over.

"We were looking for you," Yuki confessed, a line of blush going across both of our faces. He hadn't let go of my wrists and my face had fallen rather close to his.

"Uh… thank you," I blushed.

"Come on! Our dance is in five minutes!" Tomo hollered, and Yuki helped me out while we continued blushing. "Nice outfit," Tomo smirked, staring at parts that shouldn't be stared at.

Yuki smacked him across the face and Tomo ran ahead to the gym while I picked up the CD I had let fall to the bottom of the locker. Yuki waited for me. For ME.

"Thanks for finding me," I said quietly as we slowly walked back.

What I'd give to be that close to his face again.

"Ah1" I let out a random yell and dropped the CD as I grabbed my forehead and doubled over in pain. My head was burning so badly… and that white light…

"Eri-chan, are you okay?" Yuki stopped, placing a hand on my back and making chills go down my spine.

"_You don't have to cry…"_

"_How come you didn't say anything during class if you're such a good dancer?"_

"_Do you… want to hang out? As friends?"_

"_You seemed so different from everybody else…"_

"_Are you afraid? Are you afraid of what they'll think of you?"_

"_Can… Can I show you my reality?"_

"_Eri Rena… can I trust you to keep my secret?"_

"_It's sad, isn't it? For the Sohmas… there's no way out."_

"_Did you mean it when you said you would never dance again?"_

"_Do you think… doyouwanttobemygirlfriend?"_

"_Let them see…"_

"_But I… I… I love you!"_

"_I will never forget you… I love you, Eri, and I always will…"_

"Stop it!" I yelled, not caring how insane I sounded. "Let go! Make them stop! Make the voices stop!"

I think I really was going insane. The white light… the shadows… the flashbacks… and now, the voices…

Yuki took his hand off of my back and I stood up straight, still shaking. "What are you doing to me?" I whispered. "Why is this happening?"

"Side effects," Yuki replied. "You were so reluctant to forget… and now you're remembering bits and pieces…"

"Of what?" I demanded. "What does this mean?"

"It means that love is stronger than anything else. It means that this time, Akito can't win."


	17. Epilogue: All the Lights and Sounds

**Epilogue: All the Lights and Sounds**

"Eri! Get your laundry!"

Over a week had passed since the day of presentations. As expected, Makato and Sari refused to dance and received an F, and although I got a detention for my outfit, Makato, Sari, and Motoko got a week's suspension for locking me in that locker. That taught Motoko to delete that mysterious picture off of her phone!

On the brightest side, we got an A+ on our dance routine, and I actually have three people I consider my friends, even if they are boys, and three people I consider my enemies. Funny what gym class can do, huh?

I was going to go meet Tomo, Fuku, and Yuki (who might possibly like me back, despite all of the strange things that have been going on lately) at the mall food court, but first I had to get my dirty laundry off of the floor so my mom could wash it. Since she hates when I leave lip gloss and money in my pants pockets, I had to go through every pair. I eventually found ten dollars, cherry, orange, and vanilla lip glosses, and a folded piece of notepad paper.

I unfolded it and read it. It was dated the Tuesday before presentations, and it was in my own handwriting.

-_Yuki Sohma's family cursed by the zodiac_

_-When one is hugged by opposite sex outside of family, they transform into 12 animals and cat_

_-Yuki is the rat_

_-Akito, head of family, bad_

_-Since I found out about the secret, my memory had to be erased_

_-I won't remember any of this:_

_-Went on a date_

_-spent a weekend at his house_

_-He kissed me_

_-Lives with Kyo, Shigure, and Tohru Honda_

_-Mother abandoned him_

_-Will be better if I don't know because I will be in danger_

_This is all TRUE._

_-e.R._

Strange, I thought. None of this stuff made any sense. It even had my signature. Zodiac? That's impossible.

Memory erased?

Ah well.

I folded the note back up and shoved it in my drawer. Why would I write that? I didn't even remember writing it.

I walked to the mall after handing mom my laundry, and I couldn't stop thinking about that note. The whole time my thought was…

Wouldn't that make a great story?

**Jiendo**

**February 25th – June 20th, 2006

* * *

**

**For some reason it seems like I just finished that story, like, last week.**

**But yeah. I remember at chapter two when I wasn't going to finish this.**

**Maybe I should bring Eri back for another story?**

**Anyway, 104 reviews. That really is a lot. I wish I had 104 dollars. But I only have 63. SOB.**

**CuteCrittersGang/AnimeNatako/melting snowflake/Chaos Valkyrie/Teh Future Mrs. Kyo Sohma/Edakumi/fmachibichick/aldri/Kamu-san/nod/The Cucumber Lady/wryter4-hire/me/element'ice/Shiro Aki/Inulvr89/XSora-ChanX/mina/writertje/anonymous/Egyptian Goddess Sahara/Sparky/Silentlamb/Haru tohru fan/lutefa/Jente Bidernais/Evil Bunny of Death/shaffer/Frost Bitten Heart/Animelovergirl101 and Sapphire of Autumn!**

**-breathes-**

**-parties-**

**YAY IT'S OVER IT'S OVER HOORAY IT'S OVER HOORAY!!! DIE, STORY, DIE!!! IT'S ABOUT TIME YOU FINISHED! GAH! GAH! POOP!**

**And Debbie-chan knows what that means…**

**HAITOKU NO JOUNETSU!!!**

**Thank you for all of your feedback, I hope to see you all soon!**

**Brenna**

**+The Girly Man+**

**Kind of Fun-ish Fact: The girl that Makato is based off of is now one of my really good friends. Funny how that worked out. **


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